Biography
Felipe Mota (born February 23, 1980, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil), known by his nickname "Gargamel," is a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt and one of the foremost pioneers of the art in Scandinavia. He received his black belt from Octavio "Ratinho" Couto and Vinicius Campelo at the Akxe Academy in Rio de Janeiro, where he developed into a high-level competitor.
As a competitor, Mota won the IBJJF Rio International Open and earned a silver medal at the IBJJF World Championship, establishing himself among the elite of Brazilian jiu-jitsu before transitioning to a coaching career abroad.
In 2008, Mota was invited to lead a jiu-jitsu seminar in Stavanger, Norway. The experience proved transformative: he fell in love with the country and was offered a partnership in a local academy. In August 2009, he relocated permanently to Stavanger, becoming the first BJJ black belt to settle on the west coast of Norway.
Upon arriving in Norway, Mota affiliated with Roger Gracie's academy network, becoming the head coach of Roger Gracie Academy Norway. He went on to build OXY Gym in the Stavanger/Sandnes area, a facility spanning approximately 1,700 square metres that ranks among the largest BJJ academies in Europe.
Perhaps Mota's most significant off-the-mat contribution came in 2010, when he led a campaign to register Brazilian jiu-jitsu with the Norwegian Sports Federation (Norges idrettsforbund). His successful effort was a landmark moment for the sport in Norway, lending it official legitimacy and establishing a legal framework that made it easier for future foreign coaches to obtain working visas as professional jiu-jitsu instructors. This institutional recognition helped lay the groundwork for the remarkable growth of Norwegian BJJ in the decade that followed.
Through OXY Gym and the Roger Gracie Academy Norway network, Mota has mentored a generation of Norwegian grapplers, contributing to the ecosystem that would eventually produce world-class competitors from the Stavanger and Haugesund regions.